Machine Guns (VC1)
This article is about the Machine Guns in Valkyria Chronicles. For other uses, see Machine Guns (disambiguation). Military Machine Guns are the main weapons of the Shocktrooper class and its sub-classes. Gallian Submachine Guns Circa 1935 'Mags' EW1 saw a variety of firearms developed to suit a broad spectrum of needs. Among them, the machine gun's stopping power made it exceptionally popular, among arms masters, both within Gallia and abroad. Though models of all shapes and sizes saw use in combat, the Mags machine gun was especially prized on the front lines for its portability. Excelling in rapid-fire speed and ease, it exhibited unparalleled performance in the close quarters of trench and urban operations. 'Mags MXX' An elongated barrel gave this model even greater rapid-fire capabilities than the original. Between the noticeable change in size and performance, this series was given two-digit model numbers. A water-cooled system and fully retooled action yielded smoother firing, and made chambering and shell ejection failures a thing of the past. For soldiers on the front lines, those little mishaps could easily spell death. This series allowed them to fight with one less thing to worry about. 'MAJ-X' Developed as a powered-up version of the Mags line, the MAJ-X's initial designs called for it to fire reinforced shells, which caused too much of a strain on the gun's body to maintain its durability. Instead, the weapon's makers crafted special bullets that caused secondary damage to the target upon impact. Though this succeeded in increasing damage, the new rounds were prone to jams while chambering, a problem ultimately solved by limiting the number of rounds held in the firearm's magazine. 'T-MAG' A thorough redesign from the ground up gave birth to this vastly improved gun. Countless variants on the Mags existed, but the base was fast approaching its limitations. The key to progress was a loading device invented by Professor Theimer for use in tank machine guns. Built around that device, the T-MAG saw a large magazine and vast improvements in clip size and firing speed. The "T" in the line's name was added in deference to the professor who made its creation possible. Captured Imperial Submachine Guns Circa 1935 'ZM MP' The ZM MP boasts a degree of refinement so high it was lauded as Zechmeister's ultimate masterpiece. Excelling in firepower, accuracy and portability, it represents the pinnacle of everything required of a machine gun. Further sweetening the deal is the high concentration of pressed parts, easily manufactured at low cost. With these guns in hand, Imperial forces crossed Europa unchecked by the Federation and other nations. Note: Weapons with a (g) are captured Imperial Machine Guns used by Gallian forces. 'ZM MP B' This remodeled ZM MP boasts a modified barrel allowing for the use of specialty rounds without any loss in performance. Its construction remains 90% true to the original, meaning that the existing pool of mass-produced MPs could be converted into their B-series cousins by swapping out a few simple parts. Despite being introduced relatively late in the war, this line of firearms saw a considerable amount of use in the field. Note: Weapons with a (g) are captured Imperial Machine Guns used by Gallian forces. 'Ruhm' A specialty gun crafted by an arsenal under the Emperor's direct command and in conjunction with ZM Corp, it marries the accuracy of a sniper rifle with the power of a heavy machine gun. Its muzzle-dampening system and drum-shaped magazine together yield a fearsome, rapid-fire performance. Quite rare, Selvaria Bles was the only member of the Gallian invasion force to possess one. Named "Glory," this weapon was granted to her directly from Maximilian as a reward for her service. Strategies *The MAGS series are best used in a general purpose anti-infantry role. Their relatively high accuracy combined with decent damage make them good all around weapons at close range. *The MAJ-X sacrifices firepower for added stat reduction effects. For offensive, MAJ-X is weak and its attack reduction effect will usually not make a huge impact unless the enemy takes several attacks to defeat (such as an ace or boss unit). MAJ-X excels in defense and long range support, as just a single hit will more than half the enemy's attack power, and may cause them to give up and end action without attacking. *The T-MAG has among the lowest damage ratings out of all the machine guns, however it have the largest magazine capacity out of all weapons in the game - up to 35 rounds. Thus, while its per shot damage is low, the T-MAG deals a very high total amount of damage per attack. This makes it less useful for damaging enemies with interception fire, but very effective when used offensively against enemies with a large number of hitpoints, such as bosses and vehicles. *The ZM MP weapons follow the standard trend of the Imperial weapons, which emphasizes damage over accuracy and range. Their higher damage allow them to defeat enemy units with fewer hits, however with their poor accuracy you need to get pretty close to get enough hits. In fact, early models has less range than hand grenade. Like T-MAG, these properties makes the ZM MP more effective against vehicles, which are easier to hit. *The Ruhm is perhaps the most versatile weapon in the entire game, being very effective against infantry at both close and long range. It is also effective against vehicles, a single attack to the radiator is sufficient to destroy a heavy tank. While it is formidable as an offensive weapon, perhaps the Ruhm's greatest use is in defensive, because it can intercept enemy units from a very long range. Thus, by placing a unit equipped with the Ruhm at an elevated position with an unobstructed view of the battlefield, enemy movement is denied over a wide area. 'Trivia' *While these are labeled as machine guns in the game, their small magazine size and extremely short range means in real-world terms they would be classified as either assault rifles or submachine guns(SMG). *Like all weapons in VC, the machine guns are based on real-life weapons from the WWII-era. **The Gallian MAGS MX-series and T-MAG-series weapons appear to be based on a combination of weapons from the 1940s. Specifically, the German Sturmgewehr 44 and the Spanish Star Z45. The resemblance to the former is even more present in the T-MAG-series. **The MAGS MXX-series has the addition of a quite generic-looking water cooling jacket. It appears to be based on that of the German MG08. ** The MAJ-X-series has what appears to be the front end of the receiver on either a British Lanchester Mark 1 or a German MP28 attached to the front end of the gun. This includes, oddly enough, the magazine well and shell ejection port. It is unknown why the developers included this. ** Later instances in the T-MAG-series have a partially exposed gas system, apparently based on the German Maschinenkarabiner 42, albeit the front sight is moved further down the barrel, which has been significantly extended. **The overall appearance of the ZM MP and its derivatives is very similar to that of the German MP40, though later models add in features from other weapons from the Cold War-era. **The ZM MP3 and MP4 feature an upside-down version of the Soviet AKMS's folding stock. The whole series also features an AKM's rear sight. **The ZM MP5, 6, and X3 all feature the fixed stock of the American M16-series rifles. They also appear to have a sideways version of the handguard from the XM16E1, the first model of the M16 used by the U.S. Army. **The Ruhm appears to be a heavily modified version of the German MG34. *''Zechmeister'' is probably named after Hugo Schmeisser, the designer of the original MP18; this was the first mass produced submachine gun. While the MP40 is often referred to as the Schmeisser, Hugo Schmeisser did not actually design it; his principal contribution to smallarms technology during the second world war was developing the 7.92x33mm Kurz cartridge and with it the first mass-produced assault rifle. The reasoning behind the name being changed to ZM probably involves Schmeisser's WW2 work with "United Suhl-Zella Mehlis Armament Makers," a large centralised body for coordinating manufacture. * The ZM MP's designation is probably from the German word "Maschinenpistole", meaning "machine pistol", used for a submachine gun. Category:Weapons